Ice ridge questions

[sarduarkar]

Does enemy merc still regenerate ap while in ridge? Someone told me they get bonus AP regen while ridged, is this true? And ridge only affects mdef, or is it regular def as well?

Also, how does this compare with freezing axe? Is freezing axe pretty much the same except just lower -mdef/dot/etc.?

Got spearmen in my group and wondering if ridge/freeze will end up being counter productive. (i.e. why freeze them if you're gonna drain their ap to not move anyway; they will just regen ap back by the time ridge is over).

Thanks!

[Flabble]

I'm pretty sure it has the same freezing effect as Freezing Axe, in that they both prevent action and AP regain. The only difference is the very large difference in stats lost. Ridge makes you lose much more mdef, making it good to use before a LS + AOE spam.

[sarduarkar]

thanks for the info. ^^

[sarduarkar]

For those who care to know...

I was able to get a friend to test this with me, and actually, you DO regen AP while frozen. I will be taking out my viking since it's really a waste to drain ap to stop a frontrow merc AND freeze them (they will just replenish the AP by the time they are unfrozen).

[Balloonishy]

For LS to be effective, it needs to be used constantly. That means that even if you freeze them or not, they still won't be gaining AP because of LS. No reason to get rid of your Viking then...

[sarduarkar]

LS is largely effective against front merc cause they get drained the most. So why waste a whole activation on ridge anyway (which also mainly targets front merc)? Plus viking itself had poor ap regen, so i'd rather stick in a better merc in his place. Only purpose I can see is -mdef for more damage, but would require a heavy magic dmg based team.

[Zpirit]

Actually the front row almost always have a lot of AP due to the amount of guarding they do.

So the real use of Lightning Spears is to combine with Freezing/Ice ridge!

It's hard to cut them below 5 moves when there's 9 mercs to move, but it's a lot easier to cut them below 5 moves when there are only 6 to move.

So for the 2 turns they start frozen, if you can cut 2 or more mercs below 100 AP on the 2nd or 3rd row, it will effectively gimp your opponent down to 4 or less moves.

(this is the secret of pvp btw) ;)

[sarduarkar]

I thought it would be...

50 for front merc guarding + 100 from LS to front merc = 150ap drained (more than any front merc will regen except maybe witch)

I'm testing out the strategy, but it fails in dmg output. I can "paralyze" movements to a decent extent, but very little dmg pressure and thus I still loose XD.

I'll try to tinker with viking as you say and see if it helps (I did already go through the trouble of getting n.vik/ a shame to waste it).

[Flabble]

I thought it would be...

50 for front merc guarding + 100 from LS to front merc = 150ap drained (more than any front merc will regen except maybe witch)

I'm testing out the strategy, but it fails in dmg output. I can "paralyze" movements to a decent extent, but very little dmg pressure and thus I still loose XD.

I'll try to tinker with viking as you say and see if it helps (I did already go through the trouble of getting n.vik/ a shame to waste it).

Not sure how good AP drainage works, but I hardly do any dmg (stun build) and I still win. DoT timer is your friend. If you paralyze them the ENTIRE game, then you win, because you can heal to counter DOT

[wraith75]

So, basically, until now, I kept hearing ice ridge was so great, but now I'm not so sure anymore.

Is there a point then to painfully helping your viking reach 100 and upgrade to Northern ? I stored my viking in the merc room since +- his lvl 50, I haven't really regretted it until now, but I was thinking of including a viking in my future maniac main formation.

[Involution]

Ice ridge and freezing axe are part of that skill group that fall under 'if you can incorporate it then you really should because it can only benefit' category.

Ice ridge does what freezing does but with better stats. The DoT is very nice (~ -1k 3 times), the -mdef hurts A LOT, and also the benefit of disabling the front line (or any row if you can poke a hole through) for a turn. It combines nicely with every magic skill in your benefit, whether its to add additional damage or hurting their heal (the amount healed to a mercenary is directly affected by mdef, the lower the mdef the less you get healed).

Lightning spear doesn't fall under the same category as Ice ridge/freezing axe, but the skill has its use also. At level 100 maxed with charm it drains 117ap to the front and 68ap to mid and back. Extremely useful in the early game to delay an early mana seal or ice ridge for up to 2 turns to better your overall position throughout the match. Mid-late game, very useful to delay mercenaries that the opponent moved around, the 50ap from move and additional 68ap from LS, its like the mercenary used a full turn. Also useful for delaying mercs that went twice, like a monk who awakened and holy shielded the same turn.

Got spearmen in my group and wondering if ridge/freeze will end up being counter productive. (i.e. why freeze them if you're gonna drain their ap to not move anyway; they will just regen ap back by the time ridge is over).
You can never truly disable a mercenary an entire match anyways unless you by chance end up perma-stunning their formation (stunned monk). It's all about using the skills at the right time to delay that specific mercenary so that mercenary can't use their skills to delay your mercenaries, bettering your overall position against your opponent for the match. Lightning spear is useful for delaying say a frontline Exorcist or Viking for 2-4 additional turns while ridge is useful for delaying an entire row for a turn while ruining their mdef. Ice ridge is particularly deadly when your viking lives for the end part of a match when there are dead mercs and exposed rows in your opponent's formation.

My 2cents from experience. Currently I don't use a NVik and probably will never unless they add a fourth row (lmao), I am, however, in the process of leveling up a Spearman. I find lightning spear beneficial for my strategy and formation.

[Zpirit]

Very well said Involution, quite inspairing :)

[sarduarkar]

Indeed. Thanks for the inputs.

[C3nsoredAx3]

Is 2 spear enough or is 3 overkill? Cuz I have 3 spear and maybe I should drop one for viking.

[Zpirit]

2 is plenty, I would drop one if you have 3. Too vulnerable to broken spears and not enough versatile.

[C3nsoredAx3]

I see... I suppose I would drop one then. Gonna post a formation in Axe thread.